


Try To Learn To Like It

by nicolai



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 08:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6045193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicolai/pseuds/nicolai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko's angered his father again. After listening to his punishment from the other room, Azula decides to go comfort him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Try To Learn To Like It

**Author's Note:**

> Tw: Child abuse, somewhat detailed, and treating the abuse like an inevitable force of nature, perhaps implicit victim blaming.

The sound of Ozai shouting and Zuko crying could be heard all through the palace. The guards were used to it, of course, they just looked down and away, and wouldn’t meet Zuko’s eyes later. It wasn’t that the Fire Nation was solely populated by people who thought beating children was acceptable, just that speaking out against the royal family was a very risky thing to do and unlikely to make a difference anyway. Zuko’s mother knew she couldn’t protect him and had some varying reactions, if Ozai required her attention after, she’d try to ignore that it happened and would avoid Zuko to some extent, not eager to see the marks or the heartbroken look in his eyes. Azula had relatively little feelings about these episodes and they were mixed. She supposed she agreed with their father that Zuko was a bit of a disappointment, but she didn’t see any need to torture him over it- he was her Zuzu, her brother, after all. 

“How dare you disrespect me-” Ozai’s words were cut off with another shrill yell that followed the smack of the blow that punctuated them.

Azula put down the scroll she was reading, sighing inwardly. She didn’t want to be hearing this. She wasn’t sure what it was about, as she’d been gone most of the day and hadn’t seen either of them since breakfast. 

“You’re never to disagree with me that publicly! What’s the matter with you!?” Ozai shouted; a crash followed this one, then a scream. 

Azula assumed that her brother had probably heard something about the war and was upset by the world’s cruelty. It wouldn’t be such a problem if he’d learn to keep his mouth shut. But, with that vague yelling, it could have been anything. 

“-always so sensitive! Why can’t you be more like your sister?! I’m not ashamed of her!” 

“Father, plea-”

“No, don’t beg, Zuzu,” Azula mumbled to herself, “He doesn’t like that. It makes you look weak. You’ve got to just be quiet. Don’t argue, but don’t beg.”

Several exchanges later, Zuko was openly sobbing, and Azula heard her father exit his room, walk past hers, and call Ursa to him. 

The princess slipped quietly from her room, effortlessly attracting no attention as she went to her crying brother. Pausing in the door, she fought back a sneer of disgust as she saw him lying on the floor, blood dripping from his mouth and bruises blooming on his arms and chest. It wasn’t that she wanted to be cruel to her brother, she didn’t, just she was being taught that she should have only disdain for the weak and pathetic, and her brother currently looked both. 

He didn’t seem to notice her as she walked around him and into the bathroom that was attached to his room. Getting a cloth from the cupboard, she dampened it with cold water so that she could wipe the blood away. 

“Come now, Zuzu,” she announced her presence as she knelt down beside him, “You’re alright.”

Zuko flinched away, eyes narrowing, “What do you want, Azula?” his voice was suspicious and anger began showing through his tears. 

“No, brother, I’m being nice right now,” she corrected his assumption, reaching to gently help him to his feet and guide him to his bed; Zuko was accepting enough of this explanation and allowed her to lead him. 

“Wow, he did a lot tonight. Are your teeth okay?” Azula asked, peering closely at his mouth; his lip was split open on the right side and that seemed to be the source of all the bleeding.

The prince checked with his tongue then nodded, immediately wincing as she held the cloth to his mouth. 

“No, I’m stopping the bleeding. Unless you’d prefer I cauterize it?” she held up her other hand, jokingly allowing a small flame to rest in her palm, her giggle told him she was certainly kidding and he relaxed.

“There now, good boy. I’ll get you all fixed up, don’t worry,” she smiled, putting the flame out, then gently holding his hand. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled; his tears were slowing, but everything ached- most of all his heart; he hadn’t meant to make his father so angry again. 

“What did you do, anyway?” her tone was curious and light, but that didn’t stop Zuko’s sobbing restarting. 

“I- I, he was, and I-” Zuko struggled with speech, trying to catch his breath, “We were out with mother, and some- someone-”

Azula waited patiently, knowing he’d eventually get the story out. 

“Someone said we shouldn’t, shouldn’t try to get our pri-prisoners of war ba-back because they got th-themselves capt-captured,” Zuko rubbed his tears away and gave a shuddering sigh, “Father said that he saw their point…”

“And you disagreed with him because that’s cruel and betrays their loyalty?” Azula finished for him; her smile gained a hint of fondness- her brother could be so predictable, and sweet, though, for the sake of his own skin at least, he should stop that.

Zuko nodded, leaning back and closing his eyes. 

“Zuzu, just don’t say those things. Father doesn’t need to know what you think. And it doesn’t do any good anyway,” she advised, taking the cloth away from his lip and checking that the bleeding had stopped. 

“But it’s wrong!” he exclaimed, balling his fists in frustration. 

“Right, wrong, it doesn’t matter. All this does is get you hurt,” Azula shrugged, “So stop. Be quiet when you disagree. When you’re older and have more power, then you can argue- maybe.”

He couldn’t disagree with that, it wasn’t bad advice, but he knew he’d never be able to do it. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut. And he couldn’t tell his heart it didn’t matter. 

Azula read his feeling in his face and nodded, “Well, I guess then you wouldn’t be Zuzu, would you?” she chuckled and shrugged, going to the door to call for a servant to clean up the blood on the floor. 

Returning to the bed, she crawled in beside him, cuddling against his side, “Well, I guess you should try to learn to like being beaten then, I’ve heard some people do. Ty Lee said something about it,” she shrugged, then leaned up to kiss his cheek.


End file.
